Trading cards are very familiar in the sports community and they are a favorite of both youngsters and adults alike. Various forms of trading cards have been developed and promoted over the years, and each typically has on one side a photograph or likeness of a sports figure and on the other side usually some statistical information about the sports figure and/or the person's team as well as another picture. Premium type cards have been developed in recent years including high quality lithography. Some cards are printed on glossy cardboard stock with crisp color photographs of the player on the front and back. Some include a form of trademark hologram to minimize counterfeiting. Although the cards usually are referred to as "trading" cards, they are today more frequently viewed as collectibles. Prominent trading card companies are The Upper Deck Company of California, Topps of New York, Fleer of Philadelphia and Score Board of New Jersey.
The usual trading card measures about three and one-half inches by two and one-half inches and is in the form of a relatively thin card having mainly an action photograph of a player on one side and some statistical information on the reverse side. The reverse side also usually carries another action photograph of the player. These cards generally are packaged either in an individual sleeve or a group within a sleeve or envelope. In some instances, the cards are packaged in envelopes of foil, instead of waxed paper, to prevent resealing and tampering with the original contents.
One form of trading card, called Tri Cards, has been promoted and which includes cut portions of cards layered with bits of wood on top of a base card to attempt to make the photo of the player appear three-dimensional. A form of card which appears similar to this is shown in Scheyer U.S. Pat. No. 3,868,283. This patent discloses an attempt to provide a three-dimensional picture, not a trading card, in which portions of a photograph are spaced away from a background by lightweight pieces of spacer material.